System and method for taking an inventory of containers for beverages

ABSTRACT

A computer based system for taking the physical inventory of liquids dispensed in full and partially full containers. A database stores images of containers and their associated volumes. The containers to be inventoried are identified by a user and input to a computer at a graphical user interface (GUI) input/output. A computer causes the display of an image of the container and a sliding level indicator at the GUI. The level indicator is slidable along the image. The computer calculates a volume of liquid remaining in the container as a function of the position of the level indicator along the image of the container.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No.61/724,792, filed Nov. 9, 2012, the contents of which are hereinincorporated.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention is directed to a system and method for taking inventory,and in particular, for taking the inventory of the amount of fluid incontainers on hand before or after consumption over a period of time.

The inventory and control of beverages, such as liquor, by way ofexample, is a pressing problem in any business that dispenses liquid,for example, on a daily basis. It is necessary for businesses such asrestaurants, bars and nightclubs, to maintain a running inventory ofbeverages on hand.

It is estimated that establishments having inventories of beverageswithin containers have shrinkage rates of 23%. In other words, one infour drinks disappears as a result of spillage, evaporation orunaccounted for consumption. Shrinkage arises in part from a lack ofaccounting for inventory on a daily basis.

Although point of sale data can be used as an estimator of the amount ofbeverages consumed during business hours, it does not account for waste,spillage, free drinks or even evaporation (collectively known asshrinkage). Nor does it account for any inconsistencies in the amount ofbeverages consumed from order to order when liquids are free poured by avariety of employees to fulfill orders. It only provides a count ofdrinks ordered through this system and estimates the amount of beveragesconsumed based upon an idealized recipe for each sale, i.e. each orderis made with exactly the same amount of liquid regardless of whoprepares it. Therefore, although the point of sale count is adequate, itsuffers from the shortcoming that it does not account for a significantamount of the beverage consumption and is inaccurate in its estimate,because it counts sales, not consumption.

In order to overcome this shortcoming, inventory is determined on aperiodic basis through manual labor. An employee of the establishmentwill count the number of bottles having liquid in them, which is afunction of total amounts of liquid consumed during that time period,and will estimate the amount of liquid remaining in any open containersto arrive at a new inventory. This system has been satisfactory and hascontinued to be used, however it suffers from the deficiency that it islabor intensive often taking hours. If it is performed during businesshours, the employees performing the task may become distracted by thecompeting responsibilities of their job during business hours or justthe general distractions of the commotion in the environment of a bar,nightclub or restaurant. Furthermore, an accurate inventory is almostimpossible during business hours because containers full of beveragesare continuously being consumed. If the job is delayed for after hours,then the employees are often tired and the process is prone to humanerror. This method is extremely inaccurate and requires the same personto do inventory every time for consistent eye-balled estimations ofliquid remaining in open bottles. Lastly, because it also takes five tosix man hours to complete, making it impractical to do on a daily basisleaving establishment owners and managers unsure of their inventoryassets on a daily basis.

Automated inventory taking systems have been developed such as thoseknown from U.S. Pat. No. 6,616,037 which defines a computer based systemfor taking physical inventory of beverages dispensed in full andpartially full containers in an attempt to control theft andover-pouring. This system scans bar codes on the bottles to identifyproduct information about the scanned bottle and provides a silhouetteof a bottle to the user on a screen of a computing device. The userindicates, by touching the silhouette of the bottle on the screen, thefluid level within the bottle. They may touch the full symbol, emptysymbol, some intermediate symbol to input the quantity of beverageremaining in a partially filled bottle that has been scanned. Theseinventories are then processed. Additionally, it requires a bar codescan for each inventoried bottle. This system has been satisfactory,however, it too is time intensive and as a result of general input iconssuch as full, empty, quarter or the like, or fat thumb processing bytouching the screen with a user's finger misprocessing and limitedaccuracy as a result of the screen size and finger size of the userresults, and causes confusion amongst its users.

Accordingly, a system and method which overcomes the shortcomings of theprior art to more accurately and quickly inventory partially filledcontainers is desired.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A computer based system calculates the physical inventory of liquidsdispensed in full and partially full containers. A database storesimages of containers and their associated volumes. The containers to beinventoried are identified by a user and input to a computer at agraphical user interface (GUI) input/output. A computer causes thedisplay of an actual image of the container and a sliding levelindicator at the GUI. The level indicator is slidable along the image.The computer calculates a volume of liquid remaining in the container asa function of the position of the level indicator along the image of thecontainer.

In a preferred embodiment, the bottle label is reproduced in the imageto facilitate accurate positioning of the sliding level indicator. Theuser moves the sliding level indicator to a position corresponding tothe level of liquid relative to the label, to provide accuracy inmeasurement without having to alter the bottle. The computer can alsoidentify and calculate the liquid level in each bottle simply viaphotographing, video recording, or panning over the bottle(s) beingmeasured.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure is better understood by reading the writtendescription with reference to the accompanying drawing figures in whichlike reference numerals denote the similar structure and refer to theelements throughout, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a system operating in accordance with theinvention for taking inventory;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart for operating a computing device in accordancewith the invention:

FIG. 3 is a front plan view of a computing device operating inaccordance with the invention showing a screen shot for selecting a barwithin an establishment for inventory in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 4 is a front plan view of a computing device operating inaccordance with the invention showing a screen shot for selecting asection of the bar for inventory in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a computing device operating in accordance withthe invention showing a screen shot for adding a new bar;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a computing device operating in accordance withthe invention showing a screen shot for adding a particular type ofbeverage container to a section of the bar to perform inventory;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a computing device operating in accordance withthe invention, showing a screen shot for adding bottles to a particularsection of the bar in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a computing device operating in accordance withthe invention, showing a screen shot indicating bottles located fortaking inventory in accordance with the invention; and

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a computing device operating in accordance withthe invention, showing a screen shot for measuring liquid within an openbottle for taking inventory.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In order that the invention may be more readily understood, certainterms are first defined here for convenience. Listed below aredefinitions of various terms used to describe this invention. Thesedefinitions apply to the terms as they are used throughout thespecification and claims, unless otherwise limited in specificinstances, either individually or as part of large group.

“SaaS solution”=“Software-as-a-service solution”

“Beverage” may represent any and all types of liquids and fluids and/orcontents within any and all types of containers or items which take up ameasurable volume of space in a container. For example, other usesinclude lemons, beer bottles, powders, tablets, and any item to becounted in whole via typing in the number or volume of such item andswiping to the next item in the inventory Item Order.

“Bottle” can be used to represent any and all “Beverage Container” types(cans, kegs, etc.)

“Beverage,” “Beverage Identity,” and “Attributes,” refer to the specificBeverage with attributes and characteristics including but not limitedto “Beverage Name” (the name of the Beverage), “Beverage Container” or“Actual Beverage Container” (the container the beverage or liquid may ormay not be in), “Beverage Container Typo” (the type of container theBeverage comes in, like a bottle, keg, can, etc.), “Beverage ContainerSize” (the size or volume size of the container, like 12 ounces, 750 mL,1 L, 1.75 L, 23 shots, etc. This may also be the amount or size ofcontents within the container.), “Beverage Type” (the primary type ordescription of the Beverage) “Beverage Sub-type” (the secondary type anddetailed description of the Beverage), “Beverage Distributor” theDistributor, shipper, and/or supplier of the Beverage) “Beverage$/Unit(s) (the dollar value of a unit of Beverage) (1) Sold to Customers(purchased by the establishment's customer) and (2) Purchased fromDistributors (purchased by the Establishment from suppliers),” “BeveragePar Level” (the minimum level of Beverage needed (in any units of volumeor size) by the Establishment or in the Establishment's Inventory),“Number of Beverage Name, Beverage Container Types, and other Beveragecharacteristics (the amount of Beverage Containers and each of theirnames and Beverage Identities) (1) Ordered and (2) Arrived,” etc.Beverage Container's Serial Bar or Other Identifying Number (includingbut not limited to SKU number) and Picture of Serial Bar, BeverageImage, or Other Identifying Number may also be part of the BeverageIdentity and Attributes.

“Hierarchal Level” represents the level (and associated information anddata) of an Establishment: the multi-Establishment owning parentcompany, the Establishment, Bars within the Establishment, Sections orrows within Bars, and Beverages within Sections, Bars, Establishments,or Multiple Establishments.

“Beverage Image”, “Container Image” and “Image” means an actual image ofthe container and may include an image, photograph, digital rendering,etc. of the Beverage and Beverage Container as it appears to the user attime of shipping by the manufacturer or as captured by the user at timeof taking inventory.

“Actual Beverage Height,” “Beverage Height,” “Beverage Level,” “BeverageLevel Height,” and “Height of Injected Liquid” may represent the height(and associated volume) of Beverage in the (actual, real-life) BeverageContainer. “Height of Injected Liquid” is used to clarify the termduring the Equation development process.

“Volume of Injected Liquid,” “Amount of Beverage,” and “Beverage Volume”refer to the volume of Beverage within a Beverage Container.

“Total Image Height,” “Image Height,” and “Beverage Image Height” arethe heights and dimensions (say, in pixels) of the Beverage Image and/orbetween specific minimum and maximum heights and dimensions (say, inpixels) of the Beverage Image (e.g. between the specific minimum andmaximum pixel heights of liquid in an image of a potentially fullcontainer).

“Slider GUI Height,” “Slider Height,” “Slider (GUI) Level,” and “Slider(GUI) Height Level” may represent the indicated or inputted height (andassociated volume) of Beverage on the Beverage Image, which may bemarked by a lever or a row or colorful liquid filling to where tapped onthe Image. This Slider GUI Height can be inputted via a user manuallytapping and indicating where the Actual Beverage's Height is on theBeverage Image, or calculated by taking a picture of, video of, orsimply panning over the Beverage(s), Beverage Container(s), BeverageHeight(s) and letting the SaaS solution automatically quantifying theactual Height(s) and Volume(s) of the Beverage(s) or liquid(s) in theContainer(s).

“Image Filled Ratio” represents (“Slider Height”/Total Image Height)

“Actual Filled Ratio” represents (Height of Injected Liquid or BeverageHeight)/Beverage Container Height

Regarding Revenues and Profits, “Theoretical” refers to the amount ofrevenues and profits that should have been made based on Beverages ordrinks or items sold according to the Establishment's sales records(like receipts, Point-of-Sale System reports, etc.). “Actual” refers tothe amount of revenues and profits that were actually made givenrevenues and profits collected on actual sales of “Beverages ActuallyDisplaced/Lost/Consumed” (Beverages, drinks, or items given away—whethersold or not—from or out of the Establishment's Inventory). Anydiscrepancy in number, amount (in money or Beverage Volume), or valuebetween “Actual” and “Theoretical” is known as “Shrinkage,” “ShrinkageLevel,” “Loss due to Shrinkage,” “Shrink,” “Shrinkage Level,” “ShrinkageRate,” or “Shrinkage Costs.” Shrinkage is the loss of Inventory that wasintended to be sold, but was not sold. This loss of Inventory may be dueto many factors, including but not limited to drinks either given awayfor free, over-pouring by bartenders, Beverage Container (bottle)breakage, Beverage spills, theft, or improper accounting and lack ofoversight (often, due to miscommunication) between Employees and Workerswho separately handle and oversee the process of doing Inventory, theprocess of paying for (by the Establishment) and Ordering Beverages(from Distributors, Distillers, or suppliers), the process of trackingShipped Beverages, and the process of confirming or accuratelydisconfirming Beverages Arrived at (or Delivered to) the purchasingEstablishment.

(“Theoretical” Revenues and Profits)−“Shrinkage”=(“Actual” Revenues andProfits).

Reference is now made to FIG. 1 in which a system and environment inwhich the invention operates is provided. A computing device 102,preferably a smartphone, having a graphical user interface (GUI) and acamera thereon by way of non-limiting example. Smartphone 102 canidentify a geographic location as well as communicate data utilizingfixed base stations 106-1, 106-n which in turn are in communication withserver 108 which can calculate a geographic location of smartphone 102as well as store and process data downloaded at smartphone 102 as willbe discussed in greater detail below. Server 108 may communicate withbase stations 106-1, 106-n utilizing any suitable means such as aconventional telephone network, high speed data lines, SMScommunication, or a combination of the foregoing. Server 108 can becontrolled by a work station 110 or similar user interface.

Either in addition to or instead of base stations 106-1, 106-n, globalpositioning system (GPS) and associated processing circuitry/softwaremay be utilized. The GPS system may be incorporated into each smartphone102 and such system can use a plurality of GPS satellites 104-1, 104-nto independently determine the geographic location of the smartphone102. The GPS based location information thus obtained can be forwardedto server 108 through the one or more base stations 106-1, 106-n, or asknown in the art, through other communication circuits. Server 108 is anapplication server which processes not only location data, but, theinventory data created by smartphone 102 as will be discussed below. Ina preferred but non-limiting example, an establishment 200 will includepoint-of-sale devices 300, such as a cash register or credit cardterminal for monitoring the purchase of beverages being monitored withthe present invention. Point-of-sale device 300 may include its ownapplication server 112 for monitoring point-of-sale device 300 anddetermine how much of the monitored liquid has theoretically beenconsumed in the establishment 200.

A smartphone 102 is used by way of example. However, any computingdevice having a GUI and the capability to take a picture and transmitand receive data may be utilized as the inventory capture device. Thesedevices may include tablet or even latest generation notepads or laptopcomputers. Furthermore, a single server 108 or 112 is shown and will dothe processing as described below. However, this is to facilitatediscussion and multiple servers in a cloud configuration may be utilizedto execute the invention. Additionally, the invention is described asbeing primarily processed at servers 108 or 112. However, thecalculation of change and inventory can in fact be determined locally atmore powerful smart devices, such as tablets.

Reference is now made to FIG. 2 in which the process for taking thephysical inventory of liquid is provided. In a step 902 initialinformation is input to server 108 through smartphone 102 or through acomputer such as computer 10 or 114. This input data is stored in adatabase associated with server 108. The account information includes atleast one or more of the following:

-   -   Purchaser's name    -   Purchaser's date of birth (including possibly for payment        verification, initial SaaS solution purchase, and re-Ordering        from app)    -   Purchaser's email address    -   Purchaser's phone number incl. extension    -   Purchaser's specific job title    -   Purchaser's favorite type of liquor, shirt size (for gifts)    -   Establishment's name and website    -   Establishment ID Number    -   Establishment Account and Customer Numbers    -   Additional email addresses (for Establishment, owner, and        manager contact)    -   Purchaser's and Establishment's mailing address (incl. province,        region, country, county, state, city, etc.)    -   Purchaser's and Establishment's billing address (incl. province,        region, country, county, state, city, etc.) and payment info for        this SaaS solution for payment future upgrades, new features,        re-Orders from app, Shipments, etc.    -   Purchaser's and Establishment's credit/debit card information        (Name on card, type of card, card #, security code, expiration        date, billing zip code) or bank account info (checking and        routing, wire numbers, with name and bank type)    -   Coupon code(s) for discounts or special promotions    -   Name of Establishment's owning company or group    -   Owner and manager name(s) of Establishment    -   Establishment's physical address (for possible geo-fencing)        incl. province, region, country, county, state, city, etc.    -   Establishment/business type and number of Establishments        interested in this SaaS solution    -   Associated Establishments (for possible linking of franchise,        corporate, additionally-owned Establishments for reports,        crowd-shipping, additional features), including addresses,        business types, and the like.    -   Annual. monthly, or custom subscription tiers and prices as this        will be factored into reports, analytics, and trend lines.

Utilizing general information about the establishment, server 108 cannow track data and map that data to the establishment. However, byutilizing only GPS features as known in the art, by knowing the addressof the establishment, server 108 can verify proper use of the systemthrough geotagging the operation, i.e., confirming that the location ofthe operation of the smartphone 102 utilizing the system corresponds tothe establishment which the smartphone 102 claims to be associated.Furthermore, by maintaining data about related establishments, i.e., acommon owner such as franchisees or multiple non-franchised locations,in accordance with the inventory processing steps described below, cancoordinate reordering of supply amongst all of the relatedestablishments to take advantage of volume discounts, reduced shippingcosts for a single shipment and other efficiencies and savings.Furthermore, by sharing data across related companies, and analytics fortrends that are common amongst related establishments, or different, canbe produced in accordance with the invention as will be described below.

For each establishment, the system accounts for the layout within theestablishment such as the number of bars, the shelf space at each bar,the storage capabilities at each bar. Therefore, during a secondinitialization step in accordance with step 904, bars within anestablishment are inventoried and identified. Each bar within anestablishment will be given a name. Conventional names are “back bar”,“patio bar”, “main bar”, “side bar”, “tiki bar”, and the like. Thenaming and assigning of individual bars within an establishment can bedone either at computers 110, 114 which communicates with server 108, orutilizing smartphone 102 in a preferred but non-limiting embodiment.

Reference is now made to FIG. 3 in which a screen shot 200 from asmartphone 102 of a “MY BARS” page prompts the user to input each of thebars within the establishment. As seen here, an initial bar, the mainbar 208 has been input. By activating the “+” icon 206, additional barswithin each establishment are added. This input may be done on an adhocbasis, in other words, a user entering each bar or by uploading amachine readable preconstructed interactive upload form. A user willenter at least one or more of the following:

-   -   Establishment name    -   Number of Bars within Establishment    -   Names of Bars within Establishment    -   Number of Sections within each Bar    -   Names of Sections within each Bar    -   Timestamp of creation, deletion, and/or modification of any and        all of these items.    -   Primary “Beverage Type” for each bottle (Vodka, Beer,        Non-Alcoholic, etc.)    -   “Beverage Sub-Type” for each Beverage (“Coconut-flavored” Vodka,        “Amber” Beer, “Orange Juice” Non-Alcoholic”)    -   Distributor for each Beverage    -   $/Beverage Unit (like $/bottle, $/pint, or $/glass, $/shot,        etc.) sold for each Beverage    -   $/Beverage Unit (like $/bottle, $/pint, or $/glass, $/shot,        etc.) purchased by Establishment for each Beverage (for        calculating Cost of Goods Sold, Profit Margins, etc.)    -   Liquid Level for each Beverage Container    -   Number and Order of Open AND Closed bottles, cans, kegs        (Beverages) within the Establishment, each Bar, and each Section        (for instance, two open Bacardi rums for two-handed or        double-handed pours in Main Bar—Well #1)    -   List of Employees and Additional Workers (“Employees” and        “Employee Names”) in the Establishment (optional job titles        included and usernames/passwords for each)    -   When “Shift” or “Shift Schedule” and Where “Shift Location”        within the Establishment these Workers Work (e.g. Melissa works        in the Main Bar, left side, on Tuesdays 12 PM-6 PM and Thursdays        6 PM-2 AM)

As seen in FIG. 4, the user is provided with each preloaded bar. Byselecting a specific bar within the establishment for set up in a step906, a screen 300 is shown on smartphone 102 (FIG. 5). This enablesstoring sections and the capacity of each bar by an input to smartphone102. So by way of example if a back bar 310 is being created, sections312 are input such as “top shelf”, “middle shelf”, “lower shelf”, eventraditional sections such as the well which physically make up a bar.These inputs can be typed in or prompts can be provided by server 108 atsmartphone 102 for selection or deselection. Once saved, by hitting the“Done” button 314, the configuration of each bar is stored at server108.

Reference is now made to FIG. 6 in which a method for initializing adatabase for server 108 of containers to be operated upon by server 108to maintain inventory calculation is provided. In a step 908, beveragecontainers such as bottles, preferably with the labels and caps thereon,are acquired and processed from any of a variety of sources. Images ofeach distinct container are created either by downloading images of wellknown containers from third party sources utilizing the internet,actually taking photographs of bottles that are unavailable, utilizingdigitally rendered images from the distributors or manufacturers of thebeverages, such as distillers, or the like. The image of the bottleincludes identifying characteristics such as engravings, moldings, andthe labels or other artwork as applied to the bottle. These are theactual images of the bottle as seen, and are stored with attributes ofthe bottles such as the maker of the bottle, the liquid contained withinthe bottle, the volume of the bottle, the height of the bottle, or thelike.

The images are then edited by utilizing Photoshop or the like, to makethe images look empty and allowing them to be virtually filled byproviding a color within the bottle representing the liquid when a userindicates a level of liquid utilizing the GUI of smartphone 102, inparticular the sliding GUI indicator which is moveable along the heightof the image of the bottle. The bottle may be made to look filled orempty, or anywhere in between as function of portions being clear or norclear by the GUI causing pixels to be selected to either be added ordeleted depending upon whether the sliding GUI marker is being moved upfrom the bottom to the top of the bottle (towards the spout) indicatingfilling, (pixels will be added), or conversely, from the top of thebottle down, indicating consumption, (erasing of the pixels).Alternatively, the image can be transformed from color to transparentusing layer masks; or, a combination of destructive and nondestructivetechniques using layer masks and two images of the beverage, overlayingthem and selecting that part of the image to make transparent/delete onone layer, while selecting parts of the image to keep opaque and thentouched on other layers. Superimposing these layers gives the finalresult of an image of a bottle that appears empty but which can befilled as the slider GUI slides up (filled) or down (empty). It shouldbe noted that for reasons discussed below, the labels or other importantindicating and decorative features of the bottle are never madetransparent.

The beverage images are also cropped so that there is no white or emptyspace below the bottom of the bottle and above the top of the bottle inthe image. In this way, an entire library of interactive bottles isstored in server 108. If a bottle is uncommon or no picture is availablefrom traditional sources, the user may photograph an empty version ofthe bottle with the normal markings, labels and the like, cropped sothat there is no space at the bottom or the top to conform to the otherphotographs. This digital photograph is then stored in server 108 foroperation as is described below.

As seen in FIG. 6 when either changing the make-up of the beverageswithin the shelf or when initializing the beverages contained within ashelf, an add a bottle screen 440 is offered to the user at smartphone102 in a step 910. The add a bottle screen 440 provides a list of all ofthe bottles stored in the library at server 108 in alphabetical order ina scrollable form. By selecting the bottle to be added to the shelf,utilizing the GUI touch screen capabilities of smartphone 102, as knownin the art, the selected bottle will be added to the inventory for thatshelf by server 108 by assigning/mapping the bottle type to the sectionin the establishment. However, prior to addition, the user will beprompted to select the appropriate size of bottle, as well as the numberof those specific bottles which are stored in that specific shelf. So byway of example, if a user were to select a specific bottle, AbsoluteMandarin 410, then the user may be prompted with all of the knownattributes (different volumes, different labels, shapes) for that bottleso a user may select the exact bottle to be added to the bar in thatparticular location. Because the beverages are sorted alphabetically,they can be searched by beverage name. However, because of the storingof the associated information discussed above, they may be searched bycontainer size, beverage type (vodka, whiskey, rum, beer, wine) beveragesub-type, beverage distributor, or any other attribute associated withtwo or more different types of beverage containers.

As seen in FIG. 7, once a bottle is selected to be added, the number ofbottles, may be input utilizing keypad 502 to enter an amount inadditional open bottle input 504. It should be noted, that bottles canbe added to more than one location as shown in location input 506 byselecting or deselecting the location within the bar to which bottlesare to be added. A bottle ID is mapped to a location ID as stored atserver 108 in order of entry so that server 108 retains a virtualinventory of not only what containers are on hand, but how they arepositioned within each section relative to each other.

Once this process has been repeated for each location within anestablishment, server 108 creates an inventory and associates the numberof input bottles to each location within the establishment. Therefore,as seen in FIG. 8, when a user wishes to take inventory, the userutilizing smartphone 102 will be presented with the inventory at screen640 for the selected location such as main bar in a step 912. Again, thebeverages are provided in a scrollable list 620 for each respectivesection 610 within the main bar such as shelf or well in the order inwhich they exist at the shelf from left to right or right to left. Thesections themselves are scrollable. Therefore, by selecting main barutilizing a touch screen GUI user interface at smartphone 102, the listof beverages already identified as being in the respective locations isdisplayed. So if one were to select Absolute Mango by tapping theAbsolute Mango item within the list of items 620, then the user is takento a screenshot 800 in which the beverage name, in this case AbsoluteMango, by way of non-limiting example is displayed in the header bar845. Below the header bar is the beverage image 846 created as discussedabove. The image includes the label 850. A sliding indicator GUI 848 isprovided and is moveable by the user, as known in the art, along theheight of the bottle. As discussed above, beverage image 846 isinteractive so that movement of the GUI slider 848 will provide a coloror shading (not clear) within the image of bottle 846 below GUI slider848 and be clear above GUI slider 848.

In accordance with the method of the invention in a step 914, thebottles are entered into the system for inventory. The number of fullbottles is entered in a precount entry 852 by use of the “+” icon to addbottles or the “−” icon to subtract bottles. Any open bottles arecounted utilizing the GUI slider 848.

To calculate the volume of liquid in the open bottle in a step 916, theuser moves GUI 848 to the position along the bottle 846 corresponding tothe actual level of liquid remaining in the bottle on the shelf in thebar. To aid the user, GUI slider 848 causes the bottle to be filled(colored) as described above to mimic the fluid level. Furthermore, byproviding the full labels on the bottle, the user may use the labels andengraved portions such as trademark stamp 854 as guideposts to moreaccurately determine where GUI slider 848 should be positioned. It iseasier to determine whether the level of liquid is at the “A” inAbsolute or the “M” of Mango or “fields” within the text of the bottlethan approximating the level on a silhouette of the bottle. Furthermore,by providing a relatively thin slider bar 848, the level can be moreaccurately determined as compared to either a finger input or a touchpadinput which suffers from inaccurate placement when the thumb covers theplace to be touched, or suffers from “fat fingers” syndrome. Once GUIslider 848 is set, the “Done” icon is selected and the fluid height iscaptured by smartphone 102.

The user moves (slides the image) to the next beverage in the location,such as the shelf or the well, the next beverage according to the orderof beverages in the beverage list as presented in FIG. 8 automaticallypopulates the screen of smartphone 102. In this way, the user can movealong the location without having to select the next bottle from alibrary of bottles. Or, swiping the other direction returns to thepreviously inventoried beverage. Upon completion of inventory, the“Done” icon 860 is selected and the recently updated inventory includingthe amount of liquid indicated by GUI slider 848 in the one or morebottles is either automatically sent to server 108 or may besynchronized with server 108 by selecting the sync icon at the My Barspage.

In a step 918, the beverage volume for open bottles is added to thebeverage volume for full bottles to determine the total volumes at eachsection of the bar which is in turn the total volume for theestablishment, or a group of establishments. Furthermore, the specificbeverage in each section for Absolute Mango, may be added to the totalvolume input for other Absolute Mango for other sections.

In order to calculate a total volume, server 108 operates on the digitalimage GUI slider 848 and the remaining liquid indicated thereby todetermine an amount of liquid remaining in the bottle and can converselyan amount of liquid consumed. Server 108, as discussed below, can

Once server 108 receives the identified bottle and the amount of liquidcontained therein as indicated by the GUI slider 848, it calculates thevolume. Utilizing the digital image and stored attributes of the bottle,including:

-   -   the respective height of each bottle    -   the volume of each bottle    -   the amount to which each bottle is filled at time of shipment    -   thickness of the glass, in particular the thickness of the        bottom which can affect the interior volume of the beverage        container.

Utilizing the above information, server 108 can calculate the interiorvolume of the bottle and the volume of liquid contained within thebottle, including the known volume of liquid contained within the bottleat time of shipment. By determining the relative height of the GUIslider relative to the height of the bottle, server 108 calculates theratio of the beverage (liquid) height/beverage container height whichequals the actual filled ratio, i.e., the beverage height as apercentage of the beverage container height. Utilizing this information,knowing the volume of the container along the height of the container,as can be calculated utilizing complex geometric shapes to account forcurvature and the like, as well as the neck, server 108 converts theactual filled ratio to the volume of liquid remaining in the bottle.Server 108 may calculate the beverage volume as a function of the heightof the liquid as indicated by the digital image and the known diameterof the bottle, the container height and the actual filled ratio. In onepreferred, but non-limiting embodiment, the equation is derived by usingthe method of least squares or any other suitable mathematical methodfor fitting a curve or line of best fit to a set of data. Themethodology may use any type of regression analysis or other statisticalmethods to make this equation as accurate as possible. This equation maybe any real value continuous function and may be to any degree ofaccuracy.

In order to provide the most accurate measurement of beverage volume,the image filled ratio, i.e., the percentage represented by the sliderheight divided by the total image height, must be matched to the actualfilled ratio, which as described above, is the beverage height dividedby the beverage container height. By way of non-limiting example, if theone liter bottle of Absolute Mango is the bottle in question as capturedand discussed above, and the GUI slider height corresponds to a beverageheight of 53.44234 percent of the overall image height, the actualfilled ratio of that position along the actual bottles is 0.5344234.However, when accounting for the curves or neck of the bottle, thisrelationship can change.

In a step 918, server 108 aggregates the total volume of liquid at eachsection by combining a determined volume for open bottles and determinevolume for full bottles at each location within an establishment. Server108 will then time and date stamp the just input inventory and storethat inventory as the inventory at that time and date. By comparing tothe previous inventory, and determining a difference in liquid volumesfor each type of drink at each location within the establishment, anamount consumed can be determined as a function of beverage, locationwithin a particular bar, and even a bar within a particularestablishment. Furthermore, where a single owner has more than oneestablishment, inventories may be aggregated to determine beverageconsumption by beverage type, bar location, and establishment locationacross all of the establishments. It should be noted that server 108 maybe synchronized each time a digital image including the GUI slider isinput or each time the user changes the beverage type so that aftertaking inventory of each section of a bar, the data is sent to server108 rather than waiting to sync at the very end and risking loss of anydata during the intervening activities.

Often, the contents of a section of the bar changes from one inventoryto another. In other words, where once Absolut was next to a bottle forCrown Royal, that same shelf may now have a bottle of Gordon's Ginbetween the two. Because as discussed above, the system stores the orderof products within a section to facilitate inventory, when doinginventory the second time, the smartphone 102 would prompt the user fromAbsolut to Crown Royal, not being aware that Gordon's Gin is nowpresent. When the user sees Gordon's Gin, they merely go back to theAbsolut entry on the inventory list. Utilizing the GUI, they move theAbsolut either to the right or to the left as known in the art, whichwill return the user to the container library, shown in FIG. 6. The useris prompted to add a bottle and then selects the newly discoveredbeverage and assigns the beverage to the section of the bar as discussedabove in step 910.

Additionally, the above examples were presented in terms of liquids inbottles. However, the concept of taking inventory and moving along asection of an establishment is applicable for other types ofestablishments as well. For example, in a fruit section of asupermarket, the fruit is usually arranged in the same order along arow, such as peaches, then apples, then limes, then lemons, along asingle section. In accordance with the invention, the user wouldidentify a section within the produce section of the store, enterpeaches, then apples, etc. to store the arrangement of that sectionwithin the store. At the time of inventory, the user would merely countthe number of peaches and enter the number of peaches much like theyenter the number of whole containers. The user would then utilize theGUI to slide the picture to the next section of fruit, apples, and countagain until the row is completed. Once counting is done, the newinventory is sent to server 108 for processing. As can be seen, thissystem lends itself to the dairy case, the frozen food section, and thelike.

As becomes readily apparent, in a step 920 server 108, analyzing thedata, may produce spreadsheets or other types of reports showing totalconsumption of beverages from inventory to inventory, consumption ofbeverages on a beverage type or brand basis over time, even adetermination of value of beverages in stock as a function of purchaseprice or sales price as known from ordering information fromconventional accounting software such as Oracle or the like, and salesinformation as known from the POS 300. These analytics may beautomatically calculated for each beverage, given its attributes, at theindividual establishment, individual bars within the establishment andindividual sections within the establishment. It may also automaticallycalculate for the beverage volume which has been sold or lost (givenaway for free, spilled or evaporated) during any determinable timerange. Utilizing these costs and profit calculations, server 108 mayautomatically determine a return on investment on a beverage basis, barbasis, section basis and establishment basis. In other words, a personmanaging or owning an establishment may determine that vodka is moreprofitable than bourbon and even which brand of vodka or size of bottleof vodka is the most profitable. These analytics may also includeoptimizing par levels such that the computer or system automaticallysuggest (and change to) new par levels based on data to help optimizefinances and get an establishment to Just-In-Tiume inventory.

Because the method described herein, significantly saves time, six hoursfor manual inventory as compared to an average of 15 minutes for takinginventory as described above, inventory can be taken more often even ona shift by shift basis which can show profitability and shrinkage trendson a per shift basis. This gives an indication of which personnel may begiving away or “losing” more beverages than another.

As seen in a step 922, because server 108 tracks inventory levels aswell as consumption trends (when comparing changes in volume for eachbeverage from inventory to inventory) server 108 can determine when anestablishment should reorder a particular beverage in a step 924. Server108 sends and alarm to the user at smartphone 102 or either one ofcomputers 110, 114 when a desired amount of beverage on hand falls belowthat necessary to meet demand for a predetermined time period. Server108 may automatically send purchase orders, which usually follow astandard template, to suppliers for each beverage. To provide bettercontrol, the purchase orders may be sent to the manager or owner of theestablishment who would then forward them on to the supplier.

By way of example, if one's minimum level for Grey Goose vodka is threebottles, and inventory indicates that only 1.36 bottles remain after aninventory session, the server 108 will prefill a Grey Goose order for anadditional two bottles to maintain the level above three bottles.Furthermore, by aggregating several establishments owned by a singleuser, server 108, when the level of two or more establishments fallsbelow the desired level, can aggregate the orders to receive purchasediscounts.

Server 108 can track which orders have been sent, and when the shipmentsarrive, the user utilizing smartphone 102 can notify server 108 that theshipment has arrived. In this way, server 108 track inventory status andshipment status.

In one embodiment of the invention, drink recipes may be stored atserver 108. Utilizing information from POS 300, one can determine howmany of a particular mixed drink is sold. Knowing the recipe, server 108determines how many ounces of a beverage are utilized in a particularmixed drink, and can determine the remaining number of specific mixeddrinks, the current inventory can support given the recipe.

It should be known, that for ease of description only, the invention wasdescribed utilizing a single smartphone 102 and a single server 108. Itshould be understood, that by providing an identification number to eachuser making use of the system, each section of the establishment, thattwo or more smartphones 102 may be used in a single establishment evenat the same time without having double counting, merely by comparinguser IDs and section IDs. Furthermore, server 108 may be local to theestablishment such as server 112, or may be multiple servers such asknown from cloud based embodiments of applications.

By utilizing a smartphone, with an actual digital photograph of thebottle being inventoried, including any artwork on the bottle, and asliding GUI indicator, a simple to use more accurate reading ofinventory level in a quick manner is provided. By utilizing the artworkalong the bottle, the user can use the artwork along the bottle as aguide or landmark for positioning the GUI slider along the digital imageof the bottle. By utilizing an GUI interface at the smartphone, tomerely swipe from bottle to bottle in the stored container library,transitioning along a shelf or other section of the bar is alsoexpedited. By utilizing ratios of height as related to volume of abottle, the present invention may use any screen size device such as asmartphone, tablet, or other computing device and new beveragecontainers may be input by the user themselves by photographing thebeverage container using a calibrated screen setting. The beveragecontainer volume equations may be determined merely from a photograph ofthe beverage container.

Thus, while there have been shown, described and pointed out, novelfeatures of the present invention as applied to preferred embodimentshereof, it will be understood that various omissions, substitutions andchanges in the form and detail are contemplated and may be made by thoseskilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention. It is the intention therefore, to be limited on as indicatedby the scope of the claims appended hereto. It is also to be understoodthat the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic andspecific features of the invention herein described and all statementsof the scope of the invention which as a matter of language might besaid to fall therebetween.

1-21. (canceled)
 22. A method for taking an inventory of containers forbeverage comprising the steps of: providing a portable computing devicehaving a graphical user interface; providing a digital image of acontainer corresponding to an open container at the graphical userinterface, the digital image including an identification characteristic;providing a position indicator at the graphical user interfaceindicating a level by covering at least a part of the digital image;contacting the digital image at a position, relative to theidentification characteristic, along the digital image of the opencontainer corresponding to an amount of beverage remaining in an actualcontainer to be inventoried causing the position indicator to indicateat the graphical user interface an amount of beverage remaining; anddetermining a volume of remaining beverage in the open container as afunction of the position of the position indicator along the digitalimage.
 23. The method of claim 22, wherein the identifyingcharacteristic of the digital image includes a label associated with theopen container.
 24. The method of claim 22, further providing a server,the portable computing device transmitting at least the graphical userinterface position of the position indicator to the server, the serverdetermining the volume of beverage remaining in the open container. 25.The method of claim 24, wherein the server aggregates the volume ofbeverage remaining in the open container with a volume of beverage in anumber of filled containers to determine a total beverage inventory. 26.The method of claim 22, wherein an establishment to be inventoried iscomprised of sections, each section having at least one or moresubsections, and the method further comprising the step of: inputtingeach section within an establishment into the portable computing device;inputting each sub-section of each section into the portable computingdevice; and inputting each container of beverage located in eachsub-section of each section into the portable computing device, andstoring a respective location of each container as a function of thesection, the sub-section, and the establishment.
 27. The method of claim26, further comprising the step of providing a server, the serverstoring a library of digital images of two or more containers forbeverage; forwarding a list of the digital images to the portablecomputing device, and selecting a digital image to be associated with asection by selecting the digital image from the list at the portablecomputing device.
 28. The method of claim 22, further comprising thestep of providing a second portable computing device having a graphicaluser interface and a second user providing a portable computing devicehaving a graphical user interface; providing a digital image of a secondcontainer corresponding to a second open container at the graphical userinterface of the second portable computing device, the digital imageincluding an identifying characteristic; providing a position indicatorat the graphical user interface of the second portable computing device;contacting the digital image of the second portable computing device ata position along the digital image of the open container correspondingto an amount of beverage remaining in an actual container to beinventoried causing the position indicator to cover the portion of thedigital image corresponding to an amount of beverage remaining; anddetermining a volume of remaining beverage in the open container as afunction of the position of the position indicator along the digitalimage of the second portable computing device.
 29. The method of claim28, further comprising the step of aggregating the volume of remainingbeverage in the open container with the second volume of remainingbeverage in the second open container.
 30. The method of claim 22,further comprising a server in communication with the portable computingdevice and the server aggregating the number of filled containers andthe volume of remaining beverage in the open container to determine atotal volume, determining whether the total volume exceeds apredetermined level, and outputting an alert if the total volume doesnot exceed the predetermined value.
 31. The method of claim 22, furthercomprising a server in communication with the portable computing deviceand the server aggregating the number of filled containers and thevolume of remaining beverage in the open container to determine a totalvolume, determining whether the total volume exceeds a predeterminedlevel, and outputting an alert if the total volume exceeds thepredetermined value.
 32. A system for taking the physical inventory ofbeverages dispensed in full and partially full containers comprising: aportable computing device having a graphical user interface; a libraryof digital images of containers to be inventoried from the portablecomputing device, each image of containers including an identifyingcharacteristic; the portable computing device selectively displaying adigital image of a container to inventory being at the graphical userinterface, the graphical user interface including a position indicator,covering a portion of the digital image of the container relative to theidentifying characteristic in response to contacting the graphical userinterface at a position along the digital image, and the portablecomputing device either determining a volume of remaining beverage in anopen container as a function of the position of the position indicatoralong the digital image or transmitting a position of the positionindicator along the digital image.
 33. The system of claim 32, whereinthe identifying characteristic includes an image of the label associatedwith the container.
 34. The system of claim 32, further comprising aserver, the portable computing device transmitting the digital image andthe position indicator position to the server, the server determiningthe volume of beverage remaining in the container.
 35. The system ofclaim 34, wherein the graphical user interface receives a numbercorresponding to a number of unopened containers, and the systemdetermines the volume of the beverage contained in the unopenedcontainers, and aggregates the volume of the beverage of the unopenedcontainers with the volume of beverage remaining in the container. 36.The system of claim 32, further comprising a second portable computingdevice having a graphical user interface, the second portable computingdevice causing a digital image of a second container corresponding to asecond open container to be shown at the graphical user interface of thesecond portable computing device, the digital image of the secondcontainer including a second identifying characteristic, the graphicaluser interface including a position indicator, positioned, in responseto contacting the graphical user interface at a position along thedigital image, to indicate the position along the digital image of thesecond open container corresponding to an amount of beverage remainingin an actual second container, the portable computing device eitherdetermining a second volume of remaining beverage in the second opencontainer as a function of the position of the position indicator alongthe digital image of the second portable computing device, ortransmitting the position of the position indicator along the digitalimage of the second portable computing device.
 37. The system of claim36, further comprising a server, wherein the server receives thedetermined volume of remaining beverage in the open container and thedetermined volume of remaining beverage in the second container andaggregates the volume of remaining beverage in the open container withthe second volume of remaining beverage in the second open container.38. The system of claim 32, further comprising: the library of digitalimages being organized to assign each digital image of the library ofdigital images to a designated location within the establishment; thedigital image of the container to be inventoried being selectivelydisplayed at the graphical user interface in an order corresponding tothe designated location within the establishment, the graphical userinterface including an input for receiving a number of inventoriedcontainers counted; and the graphical user interface enabling the userto select a next container in a section of the establishment to beinventoried by causing the graphical user interface to present theimages in an order corresponding to locations of the containers within asubsection of the establishment.
 39. The system of claim 38, furthercomprising: a camera, the camera capturing an image of the container andinputting the digital image to the portable computing device to createthe library of digital images by storing the digital image; the portablecomputing device quantifying a volume of a beverage within thecontainer.
 40. The system of claim 38, further comprising: a camera, thecamera capturing an image of the container and inputting the digitalimage to the portable computing device to create the library of digitalimages by storing the digital image; the portable computing devicetransmitting the image to a server; the server quantifying a volume of abeverage within the container.
 41. The system of claim 38, furthercomprising the portable computing device transmitting at least thegraphical user interface position of the position indicator to a server,the server determining the volume of beverage remaining in the opencontainer.
 42. The system of claim 40, wherein the camera captures theimage by at least one of taking a picture of the container, a video ofthe container and panning over the container.
 43. The method of claim26, further comprising the step of associating each digital image of thelist with a container corresponding to the digital image, the containerbeing associated with a section.
 44. The method of claim 22 furthercomprising the step of: determining an amount consumed as a function ofthe position of the position indicator along the digital image; andreceiving an input as a function of beverage purchases made to determinean amount of goods sold and comparing the amount of goods sold to theamount consumed for a container of each beverage for which a volume ofremaining beverage has been determined.
 45. The method of claim 44,wherein the input is from a point of sale device.
 46. The method ofclaim 43, further comprising: creating a library of the digital imagesof the containers, the library being organized to assign each image ofthe library of images to a designated location within the establishment;the digital image of a container to be inventoried being selectivelydisplayed at the graphical user interface in an order corresponding tothe designated location within the establishment, receiving at graphicaluser interface a number of actual containers counted; and the graphicaluser interface enabling the user to select a next container in a sectionof the establishment to be inventoried by causing the graphical userinterface to present the images in an order corresponding to locationsof the containers within a subsection of the establishment.
 47. Themethod of claim 46, further comprising capturing the digital image ofthe container with a camera and inputting the digital image to theportable computing device to create the library of digital images bystoring the digital image.
 48. The method of claim 47, furthercomprising utilizing the camera to capture the digital image by at leastone of taking a picture of the container, a video of the container andpanning over the container.
 49. A method for taking an inventory ofcontainers for beverage comprising the steps of: providing a portablecomputing device having a camera; capturing a digital image of an opencontainer with the camera, the digital image including the opencontainer for a beverage and an image of a beverage remaining in theopen container, and determining, with the portable computing device, avolume of remaining beverage in the open container as a function of theheight of the beverage within the open container as shown in the digitalimage.
 50. The method of claim 49, wherein a graphical user interface atthe computing device receives a number corresponding to a number ofunopened containers, and the system determines the volume of thebeverage contained in the unopened containers, and aggregates the volumeof the beverage of the unopened containers with the volume of beverageremaining in the open container.
 51. A method for taking an inventory ofcontainers for beverage comprising the steps of: creating a library ofthe digital images of the containers, each digital image including anidentifying characteristic, the library being organized to assign eachimage of the library of images to a designated location within anestablishment in which one or more open containers of the containers arebeing inventoried; the digital image of an open container to beinventoried being selectively displayed at a graphical user interface inan order corresponding to the designated location within theestablishment, receiving at the graphical user interface a number ofactual containers counted; and the graphical user interface enabling theuser to select a next open container in a section of the establishmentto be inventoried by causing the graphical user interface to present theimages in an order corresponding to locations of the containers within asubsection of the establishment; using a digital image of the opencontainer to be inventoried to determine a remaining volume of abeverage in the container.
 52. A method for taking an inventory ofcontainers for beverage comprising the steps of: providing a portablecomputing device having a graphical user interface; entering a number offilled containers at the portable computing device; providing a digitalimage, the digital image including a container corresponding to an opencontainer at the graphical user interface and including anidentification characteristic; contacting the graphical user interfaceat a position to indicate an amount of beverage remaining in an actualcontainer to be inventoried causing the position indicator to cover theportion of the digital image corresponding to an amount of beverage; anddetermining a volume of remaining beverage in the open container as afunction of the position of the position indicator along the digitalimage.